Tag Archives: koch brothers

HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL: POLICE PREDATORS, PANTEX, POLLUTION AND PAYOLA
Global Revolution 1: American Revolution 2: Day 59: Communication 1
IronBoltBruce’s Kleptocracy Chronicles for 14 Nov 2011 (g1a2d0059c1)
How many examples of greed and corruption must you see before you act?

Honeywell International is a Fortune 100 aviation, aerospace and defense conglomerate based in Morristown NJ. They manufacture flight safety and landing systems as well as jet engines, including engines for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) such as those used in our omnipresent CIA’s MQ-9 Reaper (Predator B) drones. They also manufacture the “snoop drone” T-Hawk Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs) featured in the video links below and soon to be deployed by a Big Brother/DHS-funded police force near you, but Honeywell has no monopoly on the boom in converting the Skynet-like technology America uses to kill civilians abroad for use in controlling the citizenry at home:

Honeywell is in the consortium that runs the “Pantex Plant” near Amarillo TX that assembles all of the nuclear bombs in the U.S. arsenal. Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies, successor to the defense products of AlliedSignal, operates the Kansas City Plant (where workers are currently on strike for safer working conditions) which produces and assembles 85 percent of the non-nuclear components of the bombs. Honeywell also makes automation and control equipment used in home and industrial heating, and car products such as Prestone and FRAM.

The Center for Responsive Politics classifies Honeywell as a “Heavy Hitter” in the Washington political payola department. Since 1999 they have made $9,762,160 in political contributions – 53% to Republicans, 47% to Democrats – including $54,060 to John McCain and $46,957 to Barack Obama. In addition, since 1997 they have invested over $52 million lobbying both sides of the aisle.

In return for their bipartisan generosity, Honeywell has been “awarded” over $27 billion in government contracts since 2000, and over $2.5 billion last year alone. And those fat federal contracts keep right on coming despite the fact that since 1995 Honeywell has had 40 cases of misconduct totaling $703.2 million documented by the POGO Federal Contractor Misconduct Database. This makes Honeywell not only a “heavy hitter” but a “frequent offender”, as are most of our Pentagon profiteers – Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, Raytheon, et al. Honeywell’s offenses include but are not limited to: mischarging the government, defective products, illegal storage of hazardous waste, unreported hazardous chemical releases, unauthorized chemical discharges, nuclear regulatory violations, labor law violations, patent infringement, copyright infringement, securities fraud, illegal monopolization, illegal exportation of chemicals, air quality violations, release of hazardous air pollutants, water quality violations, environmental quality violations, waste management violations, age discrimination, ADA and OSHA violations.

And not included in any of the above is their historic role in making New York’s Onondaga Lake one of the most polluted bodies of water in the United States. For their corporate culpability they agreed to pay $451 million, which for Honeywell International amounts to a penalty of less than 5 days’ revenue:

This document contains links shortened using http://tinyurl.com to facilitate emailing. If you are concerned that we would use them to cloak phishing or malware, you should open them with this: http://longurl.org

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SHOW ME WHAT KLEPTOCRACY LOOKS LIKE! THIS IS WHAT KLEPTOCRACY LOOKS LIKE!

Kleptocracy [klep-TOK-ruh-see]: A government or state in which those in power exploit national resources and steal; rule by a thief or thieves. See also the United States of America where, as Goethe said, “None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.” Want documented examples of the corporate greed that corrupts our government and fuels the Revolution? Find dozens here, with more to come:

IT IS NO COINCIDENCE THAT OF THE LAST 14 U.S. PRESIDENTS, 7 HAVE BEEN DEMOCRATS AND 7 HAVE BEEN REPUBLICANS.

Our Kleptocracy-controlled media focuses on America’s two-year election cycles as if who wins or loses in the swinging of the pendulum was a matter of life or death, when in fact even at the Presidential level it makes no more difference than the outcomes of Monday Night Football, American Idol, Dancing With The Stars, Hillbilly Handfishing or the trial of Michael Jackson’s doctor. U.S. elections are staged primarily to give Sheeple the illusion of control so they will (a) vent their frustrations and expend their energy, emotions and resources supporting or attacking the Puppet on the Left hand or the Puppet on the Right, and consequently (b) never recognize and challenge the common omnipotent Puppetmaster.

There was no real change in 2008. There was no real change in 2010. There WILL be real change in 2012, but it won’t be coming from tele-brainwashed couch potatoes, manipulated voter lists, rigged voting machines or predetermined ballot counts. It will be coming from us…

Freedom isn’t Free! The revolution needs resources, folks: Your donations will be used to pay our living and operating expenses so we can continue to devote our full time and attention to informing the People and exposing the Kleptocracy pulling all strings Left and Right. Any amount you can spare will make a difference, so please click or go here today:

MEDIAGOPOLY: THE MEGACORPS THAT CONTROL MAINSTREAM MEDIA AND MUCH MORE
Global Revolution 1: American Revolution 2: Day 57: Communication 1
IronBoltBruce’s Kleptocracy Chronicles for 12 Nov 2011 (g1a2d0057c1)
How many examples of greed and corruption must you see before you act?

“The U.S. media landscape is dominated by massive corporations that, through a history of mergers and acquisitions, have concentrated their control over what we see, hear and read. In many cases, these giant companies are vertically integrated, controlling everything from initial production to final distribution.” This chart shows who owns what:

When we say these megacorps control mainstream media “and much more”, part of what we refer to is covered in the Related Videos listed below. Here’s the other part: According to numbers provided by InfluenceExplorer.com, from 1989 to now the Top Politician Recipient for 6 of the 7 members of the Mediagopoly is none other than Barack H. Obama, current President of the United States. For the one exception, Viacom, he was still in their top three. Note that even News Corporation – owner of Fox News, supposedly Obama’s primary media detractor – sent big bucks his way:

A growing number of political commentators contend that the outcomes of America’s major elections are decided in boardrooms rather than ballot boxes, and this observation is certainly consistent with that contention. Either way, here are the media megacorps who helped assure Barack Obama would be “the Chosen One” in 2008 (Note that SCOTUS forever besmirched its integrity by certifying a similar predetermined outcome for predecessor puppet George W. Bush in 2000):

1 of 6: GE/Comcast

General Electric (GE) media-related holdings include a minority share in television networks NBC and Telemundo, Universal Pictures, Focus Features, 26 television stations in the United States and cable networks MSNBC, Bravo and the Sci Fi Channel. GE also owns 80 percent of NBC Universal. On January 18, 2011 the Federal Communications Commission approved Comcast’s take-over of a majority share of NBC-Universal from General Electric. However, General Electric still has a 49% ownership stake in NBC-Universal.

The Walt Disney Company owns the ABC Television Network, cable networks including ESPN, the Disney Channel, SOAPnet, A&E and Lifetime, 277 radio stations, music and book publishing companies, production companies Touchstone, Miramax and Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar Animation Studios, the cellular service Disney Mobile, and theme parks around the world.

Headed by the infamous Australian media mogul Rupert Murdoch, News Corporation’s holdings include: the Fox Broadcasting Company; television and cable networks such as Fox, Fox Business Channel, National Geographic and FX; print publications including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post and TV Guide; the magazines Barron’s and SmartMoney; book publisher HarperCollins; film production companies 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight Pictures and Blue Sky Studios; numerous websites including MarketWatch.com; and non-media holdings including the National Rugby League.

Time Warner is the largest media conglomerate in the world, with holdings including: CNN, the CW (a joint venture with CBS), HBO, Cinemax, Cartoon Network, TBS, TNT, America Online, MapQuest, Moviefone, Warner Bros. Pictures, Castle Rock and New Line Cinema, and more than 150 magazines including Time, Sports Illustrated, Fortune, Marie Claire and People.

CBS Corporation owns the CBS Television Network, CBS Television Distribution Group, the CW (a joint venture with Time Warner), Showtime, book publisher Simon & Schuster, 30 television stations, and CBS Radio, Inc., which has 130 stations. CBS is now the leading supplier of video to Google’s Video Marketplace.

This document contains links shortened using http://tinyurl.com to facilitate emailing. If you are concerned that we would use them to cloak phishing or malware, you should open them with this: http://longurl.org

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SHOW ME WHAT KLEPTOCRACY LOOKS LIKE! THIS IS WHAT KLEPTOCRACY LOOKS LIKE!

Kleptocracy [klep-TOK-ruh-see]: A government or state in which those in power exploit national resources and steal; rule by a thief or thieves. See also the United States of America where, as Goethe said, “None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.” Want documented examples of the corporate greed that corrupts our government and fuels the Revolution? Find dozens here, with more to come:

IT IS NO COINCIDENCE THAT OF THE LAST 14 U.S. PRESIDENTS, 7 HAVE BEEN DEMOCRATS AND 7 HAVE BEEN REPUBLICANS.

Our Kleptocracy-controlled media focuses on America’s two-year election cycles as if who wins or loses in the swinging of the pendulum was a matter of life or death, when in fact even at the Presidential level it makes no more difference than the outcomes of Monday Night Football, American Idol, Dancing With The Stars, Hillbilly Handfishing or the trial of Michael Jackson’s doctor. U.S. elections are staged primarily to give Sheeple the illusion of control so they will (a) vent their frustrations and expend their energy, emotions and resources supporting or attacking the Puppet on the Left hand or the Puppet on the Right, and consequently (b) never recognize and challenge the common omnipotent Puppetmaster.

There was no real change in 2008. There was no real change in 2010. There WILL be real change in 2012, but it won’t be coming from tele-brainwashed couch potatoes, manipulated voter lists, rigged voting machines or predetermined ballot counts. It will be coming from us…

Freedom isn’t Free! The revolution needs resources, folks: Your donations will be used to pay our living and operating expenses so we can continue to devote our full time and attention to informing the People and exposing the Kleptocracy pulling all strings Left and Right. Any amount you can spare will make a difference, so please click or go here today:

BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY: THE ORACLE OF OMAHA SAYS THROW’EM A BONE SO WE CAN KEEP WHAT WE OWN!
Global Revolution 1: American Revolution 2: Day 56: Communication 1
IronBoltBruce’s Kleptocracy Chronicles for 11 Nov 2011 (g1a2d0056c1)
How many examples of greed and corruption must you see before you act?

If your mind is media-managed like that of most Americans, hearing the name “Warren Buffett” immediately spawns images of a nice old man with a twinkle in his eye – and billions in the bank – who reminds you of your Grandpa (or the Grandpa you wish you had). Well, Warren Buffett is a “man” … and he is 80 years “old” … but he is NOT “nice”. Check the facts: Warren Buffett is Chairman and CEO of the Fortune 500 conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, but he had nothing to do with founding that company. Rather, he took it over so he could fire what may have been one of the last men to mess with him. It should also not go unmentioned that – given his $5 billion investment in Bank of America this past August – Buffet stood to pocket a pretty penny from their $5 debit card fees if BOA had not cowered and caved.

Through the companies and brands owned by Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett makes money off almost every American almost every day. I would wager that 90% of you reading this directly or indirectly contributed to the bottom line of more than one of Warren Buffett’s companies more than once in the past 90 days:

The GEICO Gecko, the Fruit of the Loom guys, Dairy Queen’s old-fashioned shaving bunnies, and yes even those four former General Re executives who just got their AIG-related fraud and conspiracy convictions overturned on a technicality are (or were) drummers and shills for Warren Buffett. Sensing mortality (or feeling guilty) perhaps, Buffett has made massive philanthropic moves in recent years. But I’d say his primary motivator is still greed – if not in the having, then at least in the getting. And like any winning chess player, Buffett thinks no more about sacrificing a pawn than he does about throwing dogs a bone. Just as he did here…

The following is a 14 August 2011 Op-Ed contribution by Warren Buffett to the New York Times. It is entitled “Stop Coddling the Super-Rich”, but clearly conveys the message “Throw’em a Bone So We Can Keep What We Own!”:

[The words of Warren Buffet begin here]

OUR leaders have asked for “shared sacrifice.” But when they did the asking, they spared me. I checked with my mega-rich friends to learn what pain they were expecting. They, too, were left untouched.

While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks. Some of us are investment managers who earn billions from our daily labors but are allowed to classify our income as “carried interest,” thereby getting a bargain 15 percent tax rate. Others own stock index futures for 10 minutes and have 60 percent of their gain taxed at 15 percent, as if they’d been long-term investors.

These and other blessings are showered upon us by legislators in Washington who feel compelled to protect us, much as if we were spotted owls or some other endangered species. It’s nice to have friends in high places.

Last year my federal tax bill – the income tax I paid, as well as payroll taxes paid by me and on my behalf – was $6,938,744. That sounds like a lot of money. But what I paid was only 17.4 percent of my taxable income – and that’s actually a lower percentage than was paid by any of the other 20 people in our office. Their tax burdens ranged from 33 percent to 41 percent and averaged 36 percent.

If you make money with money, as some of my super-rich friends do, your percentage may be a bit lower than mine. But if you earn money from a job, your percentage will surely exceed mine – most likely by a lot.

To understand why, you need to examine the sources of government revenue. Last year about 80 percent of these revenues came from personal income taxes and payroll taxes. The mega-rich pay income taxes at a rate of 15 percent on most of their earnings but pay practically nothing in payroll taxes. It’s a different story for the middle class: typically, they fall into the 15 percent and 25 percent income tax brackets, and then are hit with heavy payroll taxes to boot.

Back in the 1980s and 1990s, tax rates for the rich were far higher, and my percentage rate was in the middle of the pack. According to a theory I sometimes hear, I should have thrown a fit and refused to invest because of the elevated tax rates on capital gains and dividends.

I didn’t refuse, nor did others. I have worked with investors for 60 years and I have yet to see anyone – not even when capital gains rates were 39.9 percent in 1976-77 – shy away from a sensible investment because of the tax rate on the potential gain. People invest to make money, and potential taxes have never scared them off. And to those who argue that higher rates hurt job creation, I would note that a net of nearly 40 million jobs were added between 1980 and 2000. You know what’s happened since then: lower tax rates and far lower job creation.

Since 1992, the I.R.S. has compiled data from the returns of the 400 Americans reporting the largest income. In 1992, the top 400 had aggregate taxable income of $16.9 billion and paid federal taxes of 29.2 percent on that sum. In 2008, the aggregate income of the highest 400 had soared to $90.9 billion – a staggering $227.4 million on average – but the rate paid had fallen to 21.5 percent.

The taxes I refer to here include only federal income tax, but you can be sure that any payroll tax for the 400 was inconsequential compared to income. In fact, 88 of the 400 in 2008 reported no wages at all, though every one of them reported capital gains. Some of my brethren may shun work but they all like to invest. (I can relate to that.)

I know well many of the mega-rich and, by and large, they are very decent people. They love America and appreciate the opportunity this country has given them. Many have joined the Giving Pledge, promising to give most of their wealth to philanthropy. Most wouldn’t mind being told to pay more in taxes as well, particularly when so many of their fellow citizens are truly suffering.

Twelve members of Congress will soon take on the crucial job of rearranging our country’s finances. They’ve been instructed to devise a plan that reduces the 10-year deficit by at least $1.5 trillion. It’s vital, however, that they achieve far more than that. Americans are rapidly losing faith in the ability of Congress to deal with our country’s fiscal problems. Only action that is immediate, real and very substantial will prevent that doubt from morphing into hopelessness. That feeling can create its own reality.

Job one for the 12 is to pare down some future promises that even a rich America can’t fulfill. Big money must be saved here. The 12 should then turn to the issue of revenues. I would leave rates for 99.7 percent of taxpayers unchanged and continue the current 2-percentage-point reduction in the employee contribution to the payroll tax. This cut helps the poor and the middle class, who need every break they can get.

But for those making more than $1 million – there were 236,883 such households in 2009 – I would raise rates immediately on taxable income in excess of $1 million, including, of course, dividends and capital gains. And for those who make $10 million or more – there were 8,274 in 2009 – I would suggest an additional increase in rate.

My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress. It’s time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice.

This document contains links shortened using http://tinyurl.com to facilitate emailing. If you are concerned that we would use them to cloak phishing or malware, you should open them with this: http://longurl.org

###

SHOW ME WHAT KLEPTOCRACY LOOKS LIKE! THIS IS WHAT KLEPTOCRACY LOOKS LIKE!

Kleptocracy [klep-TOK-ruh-see]: A government or state in which those in power exploit national resources and steal; rule by a thief or thieves. See also the United States of America where, as Goethe said, “None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.” Want documented examples of the corporate greed that corrupts our government and fuels the Revolution? Find dozens here, with more to come:

IT IS NO COINCIDENCE THAT OF THE LAST 14 U.S. PRESIDENTS, 7 HAVE BEEN DEMOCRATS AND 7 HAVE BEEN REPUBLICANS.

Our Kleptocracy-controlled media focuses on America’s two-year election cycles as if who wins or loses in the swinging of the pendulum was a matter of life or death, when in fact even at the Presidential level it makes no more difference than the outcomes of Monday Night Football, American Idol, Dancing With The Stars, Hillbilly Handfishing or the trial of Michael Jackson’s doctor. U.S. elections are staged primarily to give Sheeple the illusion of control so they will (a) vent their frustrations and expend their energy, emotions and resources supporting or attacking the Puppet on the Left hand or the Puppet on the Right, and consequently (b) never recognize and challenge the common omnipotent Puppetmaster.

There was no real change in 2008. There was no real change in 2010. There WILL be real change in 2012, but it won’t be coming from tele-brainwashed couch potatoes, manipulated voter lists, rigged voting machines or predetermined ballot counts. It will be coming from us…

Freedom isn’t Free! The revolution needs resources, folks: Your donations will be used to pay our living and operating expenses so we can continue to devote our full time and attention to informing the People and exposing the Kleptocracy pulling all strings Left and Right. Any amount you can spare will make a difference, so please click or go here today: